1. Field of Invention
The present invention relate to a computer system having a battery unit detachably mounted thereto as an auxiliary power source and a charging unit for charging the battery unit, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a computer system, such as a laptop computer or a mobile computer, may be provided with an adapter unit for supplying electric power to operate and a battery unit as an auxiliary power source.
Such a computer system is provided with a charging unit for charging the battery unit. The charging unit may be provided with a switching part such as an FET (Field Effect Transistor) which is supplied with electric power through the adapter unit and selectively outputs a charging current to the battery unit; and a switching controller which controls the switching part so that the charging current reaches a predetermined target value.
However, when the battery unit is charged, a lot of heat may be generated from the charging unit due to a switching operation of the switching part. As a result, the heat may affect a control operation of the switching controller. In particular, as the switching part is arranged closer to the switching controller, the heat may more significantly affect the control operation of the switching controller, thereby lowering reliability of the control operation of the switching controller. Thus, a life span of the battery unit may be shortened. Also, the design of the charging unit may be restricted.
Further, the heat may be generated from the battery unit as well as the charging unit. This may also affect operations of the computer system, and in a worst scenario, the safety of the computer system may be affected in case of excessive heat.